Quarantine Tank Setup

[Windy Miller]

Hi all, first post here so take it easy on me. :)

I'm in the process of setting up a 130gall tank + 30gall sump (mainly DSB). It'll be low on fish and run mainly as a mixed coral + inverts.

I was intending to run a seperate refugium but I'm going to take the advice of those in the know and run a QT instead.

So a number of questions:

1) Do you need to run a QT wet 24/7 or can it be setup prior to a purchase and run bare bottom with just a skimmer(+pump) for filtration/water movement + regular water changes from the main tank?

2) How long would you generally quarantine different types of livestock for?

3) Do I need to budget for the same lighting quality as in the main tank?

4) Would I be pro-actively adding treatments to livestock in the QT?

5) How much extra stress is this imposing on some already stressed livestock?

6) What would be a good size for a QT for my setup?

[daven]

My QT is set up as follows:

20 g long
Dry till I need it
No skimmer, air pump with a filter sponge which I keep in sump till I need QT
heater
JBJ underwater filter/powerhead
barebottom
no lighting
all sides black except front
large pieces of PVC for hiding
egg crate top

It is placed in a low traffic flow area. The hope is that the black sides, hiding places and low traffic will give the fish time to settle in without as much stress.

When a fish goes out of QT then it goes dry until next use. Filter sponge is bleached and rinsed thoroughly and put in sump.

Water changes use water from main tank (180g).

I do not proactively treat. I target a minimum of 4 weeks in QT.

[meco65]

First let me say.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b86/meco65/welcome1.gif

Checkout this link has a ton of info. Good luck.
http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/index.html
Once on the site go INFO links than to QT link. Hope this helps.

[Windy Miller]

Thanks guys :)

Some nice consistent advice there. The equipment list will be very handy I'll pretty much try and dupe that.

What about QTing corals? I'm an especially big fan of Zoas but reading some of those spider infestation stories is pretty devastating.

Presumably the approach for a coral QT would involve lighting?